How to Start a Business

Starting a Whale Watching Business

What does it take to start a whale watching business? This article discusses the most important things you should consider when opening a whale watching business.

Thinking about opening a whale watching business? We tell you what you need to know to get started.(article continues below)

Creating a Business Plan for a Whale Watching Business

A common mistake for a small business owner is to launch your company without having written a business plan.

The key benefit of writing a business plan is that it defines the game plan. If you don't have a business plan, your leadership will be handicapped, limiting your whale watching business's ability to succeed long-term.

Start by defining your business mission. The process of writing a mission statement doesn't have to be complicated. With a carefully crafted mission statement in place, it's time to initiate the hard work involved with writing the rest of your whale watching company's business plan.

Assess the Competition

Prior to launching a whale watching business within your community, it's essential to find out how strong the competition is. We've provided the link below to help you find competitors in your area. Simply enter your city, state and zip code to get a list of whale watching businesses in your town.

Is the local market large enough to support another whale watching business? If not, you had better be sure that you are doing things much better than the competition.

Talk to People Who Are Already in the Business

If you want to open a whale watching business you really ought to talk to somebody who is already in the business. If you think owners of nearby whale watching businesses will give you advice, think again. What's in it for them?

However, a fellow entrepreneur who has started a whale watching business in a location that is not competitive to you may be willing to share their entrepreneurial wisdom with you, after they realize you reside far away from them and won't be stealing their local customers. Many business owners are happy to give advice to new entrepreneurs If you are persistent, you can find a business mentor who is willing to help you out.

Where can an aspiring entrepreneur like you find somebody who runs a whale watching business on the other side of the country to talk to?

It's not that hard. Just use the handy link below and enter in a random city/state or zipcode.

Every entrepreneur dreams about building a highly successful company from the ground up. But the harsh reality is that startup whale watching businesses experience a high failure rate compared to entrepreneurs who buy existing whale watching businesses.

There are a lot of factors that need to be considered in buying vs. starting a business. By buying a profitable whale watching business, you'll shorten the amount of time it takes to achieve a return on your investment because you'll have the advantage of a proven operation and an existing customer base.

Consider Franchising

Your odds of growing your business go up significantly if you become a franchisee instead of doing it all on your own.

If you planning on starting a whale watching business, a smart move is to check out whether buying a franchise could make sense for you.

The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.